Skip to the action
Don’t be a YouTube video
“Make every word tell.”
–The Elements of Style
According to Wadsworth's Constant the first 30% of a YouTube video is useless filler. Don’t be a YouTube video. Skip to the action. Some stories shine when you dispense with the setup.
Leading with action helps people understand why they should care.
“The bride decked the maid of honor at the wedding last weekend.”
Sometimes context and details can get in the way: “I was at a wedding last weekend, in Jacksonville, and it got heated because the bride and her high school friends have had a very interesting history ever since…” You can lead with the action and then fill in the gaps.
Ditto with work presentations. This is the typical way:
Who we are: We are the ⚙️ team
Context: Last year, we all started to have to do that thing
Problem: We all hate doing that thing, remember?
Solution: We built a ⚙️ to do that thing we all hate
Next steps: We implement ⚙️ so thing goes away
Instead, you could try:
Solution: We built a ⚙️ to do that thing we all hate
Context: Last year, we all started to have to do that thing
Problem: We all hate doing that thing, remember?
Next steps: We implement ⚙️ so thing goes away
Who we are: We are the ⚙️ team
The sooner you get to the action, the sooner you get to the point.